The captain chose the public forum of a Champions League press conference, on the eve of Tuesday’s last-16 first-leg tie away to FC Copenhagen, to deliver what amounted to a team-talk to his colleagues — and he also gave his backing to manager Carlo Ancelotti.

“He’s a great manager,” Terry said of the Italian, who is under mounting pressure in a hugely testing season in which, given their Premier League plight, the Champions League is their only realistic target. “The players are 100 per cent behind the manager. He’s got complete confidence in us, and we do with him.”

Terry also said the Chelsea players had yet to receive an “apology” from those who said they were too old last season before they went on to win a League and FA Cup Double.

“You get people saying the squad is past its best and then we win a Double,” Terry said. “No one apologises for the statements they made.”

Ancelotti, perhaps reacting to Terry’s bullish approach, was in the mood to go on the front foot. “The season is not finished. A lot of times, I’ve been able to manage this moment,” the Italian said.

“In 2007 [at AC Milan] it was the same situation [they went on to win the Champions League]. I should remind you. The Italian journalists noticed that, wait, the season is not finished yet.

“It could be the best season that we can ever have a memory of. Maybe it could be the worst. I don’t know. But wait, wait. Chelsea has not died. It’s still alive.”

Roman Abramovich will, indeed, wait. For now. Ancelotti, despite the worst run of results under the Russian billionaire’s ownership, still has credit in the bank, while there is also the realisation that there is no outstanding candidate to succeed him — yet — at Stamford Bridge. But that patience can quickly turn.

Chelsea remain a club run at the whim of one man, and that man has often acted quickly, especially if his exacting demands are not being met.

It is unthinkable for Chelsea to go out of this competition to the Danish champions but not as unthinkable, as Terry admitted, as not qualifying for the Champions League next season.

“The worst thing to think about is looking at Spurs and Man City, and they’re playing well and picking up points,” Terry said. “It would be disastrous for the football club if we didn’t qualify for the Champions League. It’s hard to get my head around it now.

“It’s still not over. We’ve got a small chance [of winning the League] and we’re going to keep fighting. If we lose to Manchester United [on Mar 1], it could be over.”

The hunger and desire of some of Chelsea’s players has also been questioned but this theory was dismissed by Terry. “That is what I lose sleep over: watching other clubs lift trophies,” he said while admitting it had been a “stressful” campaign.

“Coming into the season, we aimed to retain both the league and FA Cup and kick on in this competition. This could be a blessing in disguise. We can’t change things that have happened, but we’re still in a big competition.”

It is the “big competition” that has eluded him, Chelsea and Abramovich, and the £50 million acquisition of Fernando Torres was a statement from the owner that he wants to win Europe’s top trophy this season. Terry said that, after the arrival of David Luiz, he expected more new signings in the summer.

“That’s down to the owner and the manager,” he said. “But, by the looks of things, he [Abramovich] is not going to buy these two players, sit back and hope for the best. It’s always important to strengthen our squad. If we can add, we can be a very good force in the league and in Europe.”

But has Torres’s signing actually had a destabilising effect? “People come up with things and try and find a problem at the club,” Terry said. “Fernando has come in at the end of the transfer window.

"He’s given the players a real lift and we feel we’ve missed out [in the past] with a couple of players, but he lifted the whole camp. David, too. He’s gone unnoticed with his £20 million price tag. He’s the future of Chelsea.

“We have underachieved, and we want to be higher, but we believe we’ve still got the quality and, with these guys coming in, we can push on.

“It’s about believing in ourselves again, chasing the next goal and killing games off. We need to restore the confidence in the squad because we’ve certainly got the players.”